[THE INVESTOR] Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba on June 11 renewed its commitment to supporting Korean companies to further expand their presence in its home market China.

“Alibaba Group’s strategy and new retail initiative will offer one stop solutions to Korean merchants to tap in to both online and offline markets in China,” Alibaba Global Business Group President Angel Zhao said at a press conference in Seoul.

Alibaba Global Business Group President Angel Zhao

She added that China is currently trying to increase the annual volume of imports to more than US$8 trillion won in the next five years, a boon for Korean firms.

Under the plans, Alibaba will offer more customized branding solutions to different Korean brands. Especially, the lowest-tier group with little brand awareness will be supported through its Taobao platform for their marketing push.

In order to encourage spending by Chinese tourists in Korea, Alibaba said it will make its Alipay payment service more available at retail shops here ranging from convenience stores to coffee outlets like Starbucks.

Amid the growing popularity of K-pop around the world, US e-commerce giant Amazon is also ramping up efforts to lure more Korean sellers on its platform. Alibaba said it plans to strengthen its B2C service while Amazon is more focused on C2C business here.

In 2017, Korea was the fourth-biggest exporter on Alibaba’s B2C website Tmall Global after Japan, US and Australia. A total of 17 brands, including cosmetics brand Mediheal and Kakao Friends, are selling products on the website.